Vegan Rosemary-Scented Pecan Crumble with Spiked Cranberry-Orange Filling

Yield: 8 servings

I know that a cranberry recipe in April seems odd, especially for a southeastern cook, but I actually have a good explanation:

Each month, as you may or may not know, Better Homes & Garden Magazine runs their “Prize Tested Recipe” competition. I’ve actually won or placed a couple of times in my pre-vegan (though vegetarian) days. The monthly call is for recipes in either of two categories that will be published about 6 months later. Hence, the winners of the “Cranberry Sweets” category that I entered will run next fall.

The recipe I submitted is a favorite that I created for our families’ annual Thanksgiving celebrations a few years back. However, I made a few alterations. For starters, I knew that BH&G would never choose a recipe that called for “vegan butter” as the original version of my crumble does. So, I thought about canola margarine as a substitution, but I wanted something even more widely available; I decided to try good ‘ole canola oil. It worked beautifully!

Knowing, though, that such a change might compromise the flavor, I decided to boost the recipe in that department in several ways. First, I added brandy, orange zest and cinnamon to the filling. Yum. But the real inspiration was what I added to the crumble: fresh rosemary, along with a hint of cinnamon. Double-yum!

If a homespun warm cranberry crumble is not something you find yourself craving this spring, I hope you’ll bookmark it for the fall. It really is already a winner in my (cook) book.

For this recipe and some 170+ more,
I invite you to purchase my first cookbook:

The Blooming Platter:
A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

Vegan Heritage Press
Spring 2011

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4 comments

  1. Jess - The Domestic Vegan

    This looks absolutely incredible!! LOVE the idea of adding rosemary!

  2. Very cute photo of you!
    I'm really glad to have your feedback–and I'm glad it looks/sounds good to you. Hopefully, the judges will feel the same! The rosemary is just the little "oomph" it needed to make it extra special, though my mother prefers that I not alter something that she thought was perfectly good before. Maybe I'll have to make two versions next Thanksgiving. 🙂

  3. Awesome flavour combo! Crisps + crumbles are my absolute favourite deserts and this is definitely a must try.

  4. Mine too! They are just so homey and yummy. The rosemary makes this one just a little different, but not odd, at least not to me! Thanks, Julie.

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